AKRON, Ohio, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Lake Municipal Utilities is extending for an additional year an agreement with FirstEnergy Solutions to supply renewable electric generation to the Water Filtration Plant, Water Pollution Control Center and other facilities through December 2014. During the last year of the agreement, FirstEnergy Solutions will retire enough Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to equal 25 percent of Avon Lake Municipal Utilities' generation use. The RECs will be generated at the Seneca Pumped Storage Hydro Plant in Warren, Pennsylvania.

Todd A. Danielson, Chief Utilities Executive of Avon Lake Municipal Utilities said, "Our customers have told us that they are willing to pay a little more for renewable energy in order to enhance our sustainability efforts. However, by working with FirstEnergy Solutions, we were able to take advantage of the current energy market to save the greenhouse gas equivalent of 600 cars on the road per year and save 5 percent on energy costs – that's a big win."

"FirstEnergy Solutions is committed to providing our communities with access to products that allow them to achieve their renewable goals," said Julie Hextell, FirstEnergy Solutions senior vice president of Retail Sales and Marketing. "Offering renewable energy options while helping customers achieve budget savings is an example of the versatility of our products."

When a renewable energy generator – such as a hydro plant – produces electricity that is certified and sold into the wholesale electricity market, it also produces RECs. A REC represents the positive environmental attributes associated with putting renewable power onto the grid. By retiring RECs, FirstEnergy Solutions is adding an amount of renewable power to the grid equivalent to 25 percent of the amount of power that Avon Lake Municipal Utilities will use during 2014.

FirstEnergy Solutions, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is one of the nation's largest providers of competitive electric generation supply, serving more than 1.5 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan and Illinois.

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies comprise one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems. Its diverse generating fleet features non-emitting nuclear, scrubbed coal, natural gas, and pumped-storage hydro and other renewables, and has a total generating capacity of nearly 23,000 megawatts.